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THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST ANNE<br />

<strong>DIGEST</strong><br />

may / june 2016<br />

Easter in<br />

St<br />

Anne’s<br />

Pages 6-7<br />

The Dean of Belfast the Very Rev John Mann, and Father Michael Sheehan, Administrator of St Patrick’s Church<br />

in Donegall Street, led a Service of Commemoration for the 75th anniversary of the Belfast Blitz. Two<br />

Merryweather Fire Engines which attended from Drogheda and Dundalk on the night of the Blitz returned to<br />

Belfast for the service on Sunday April 17. Full story on pages 10 & 11.<br />

Cathedral Digest 3


Letter from<br />

the Dean<br />

By the Very Rev John Mann, Dean of Belfast<br />

The coming two months bring a succession<br />

of special occasions to St Anne’s<br />

concluding with services to<br />

commemorate the Battle of the Somme.<br />

Many of these are looking back events,<br />

as we remember the changing times,<br />

particularly of the twentieth century. The<br />

recent 75th anniversary of the Belfast<br />

Blitz, which began on the night of April<br />

15, called to my mind once again the<br />

sinking of the Titanic which occurred on<br />

the same night 29 years earlier.<br />

We have services recalling personal loss<br />

as well as those noting national occasions<br />

of commemoration. So St Anne’s<br />

adapts to the needs of the city it serves,<br />

to the dioceses and wider community,<br />

and most importantly to the reconciling<br />

work of Christ.<br />

Why do we do these things? Why do we<br />

continue to seek the healing of the nations?<br />

Why do we try to reconcile what<br />

divides us, either historically or now?<br />

The answer is the same, however we<br />

Dean John Mann<br />

phrase the question. God in Christ was<br />

reconciling the world to himself. As we<br />

fashion ourselves as a cathedral whose<br />

foundation is to seek to prayerfully<br />

imitate Christ Jesus, we have no option<br />

but to place reconciliation at the heart of<br />

all we do. St Anne’s has worked as a<br />

healing agency for a long time, and yes,<br />

we have had our own moments of<br />

division and times when internally we<br />

are challenged by our own preaching,<br />

but that is to be expected.<br />

The New Testament, in fact the whole<br />

Bible, bears witness to the spiritual<br />

warfare that attacks both individuals and<br />

communities of faith. That is the reason<br />

why reconciliation must lie at the heart<br />

of imperfect people who seek the face of<br />

God. That’s us, and always will be.<br />

Open Door Lunch for the homeless<br />

Connor Diocese is now offering a free<br />

lunch for people living and sleeping on<br />

the streets of Belfast in St Anne’s<br />

Cathedral Halls every Tuesday.<br />

Open Door Lunch is an initiative by the<br />

diocese’s Church Army Evangelists and<br />

has the support of local businesses.<br />

Karen Webb, Lead Pioneer Evangelist<br />

with Connor’s North Belfast Centre<br />

of Mission, said: “Homelessness is a<br />

growing issue in the UK and particularly<br />

in Belfast, and we felt we had a call to,<br />

in some small measure, reach out and<br />

engage with the homeless community<br />

around us.”<br />

2<br />

Cathedral Digest


Music<br />

The Shoreline Chorus from Canada in concert in St Anne’s on April 5 along with the Queen’s Island Victoria Male<br />

Choir from Belfast. The Cathedral has hosted a number of visiting choirs in recent months.<br />

The Rev Mark Niblock is<br />

appointed Dean’s Vicar<br />

The Rev Mark Niblock, Priest-in-Charge<br />

of Rathcoole Parish, will take up the post<br />

of Dean’s Vicar early this month,<br />

succeeding Canon Denise Acheson.<br />

Mark, 38, is married to Cherry and father<br />

to Jason aged six and Rowan aged two.<br />

A native of Bangor, he is a former<br />

student of Bangor Grammar School. He<br />

read Theology at Fitzwilliam College,<br />

Cambridge, and after graduation worked<br />

for James Brown and Sons Funeral<br />

Directors from 1999 to 2006.<br />

Before he was ordained, Mark studied<br />

for a Master’s degree in Christian<br />

Spirituality at Milltown Institute, Dublin.<br />

Mark was curate assistant in Agherton<br />

Parish, Portstewart, from his ordination<br />

in June 2008 until his move to St<br />

Comgall’s, Rathcoole, in May 2012.<br />

Looking forward to his new role in Belfast<br />

Cathedral, Mark said: “I am excited<br />

about a new area of ministry that I have<br />

not had prior experience of and am<br />

looking forward to the team aspect of<br />

working in St Anne’s. I think the change<br />

will be both stretching and rewarding.<br />

New Dean’s Vicar, the Rev Mark Niblock.<br />

“I have missed choral input over these<br />

last few years and look forward to<br />

reconnecting with that.”<br />

The Dean of Belfast, the Very Rev John<br />

Mann, said: “I have known Mark since<br />

his ordination and am certain he and<br />

his wife and their young family will be<br />

received by staff, parishioners and<br />

volunteers in St Anne’s with open arms<br />

and much joy.<br />

“St Comgall’s will miss him, as we of<br />

course miss Canon Denise. As they<br />

make their transition, so Mark will need<br />

time to make his. But I am excited about<br />

another new chapter opening for the<br />

Cathedral.”<br />

Cathedral Digest 3


Candles for Brussels<br />

In the wake of the terrorist attacks on Brussels, a single<br />

candle burned for several days in the Cathedral’s<br />

Chapel of the Holy Spirit, with prayers said for all<br />

victims of violence.<br />

People were invited to light candles around the central<br />

flame and there was space for prayer and reflection.<br />

The Dean of Belfast, the Very Rev John Mann, said the<br />

space for reflection and prayer was being established in<br />

the Chapel of the Holy Spirit in view of ‘the atrocities that<br />

continue to be perpetrated by terrorists in our world today,<br />

and particularly the Brussels attacks.’<br />

Visitors could light candles<br />

around the central flame and<br />

prayers were said to remember<br />

all victims of violence.<br />

“During Holy Week our minds<br />

and hearts search, as far as we<br />

are able, the mind and heart of<br />

Christ, who gave himself for us<br />

and seeks ever to intercede<br />

for us. May God in his<br />

mercy bring peace to the hearts<br />

of the desolate and light eternal<br />

shine on those who have died<br />

and are held in the<br />

unfathomable love of Jesus,”<br />

said Dean Mann.<br />

4<br />

Cathedral Digest


The Connor MU Festival Service. All Ireland President Phyllis Grothier is in the foreground, right.<br />

Connor MU Festival Service<br />

This year’s Diocese of Connor MU<br />

Festival Service on Sunday April 10 was<br />

a celebration of the 140th anniversary of<br />

Mothers’ Union and the 90th birthday of<br />

MU Patron Her Majesty the Queen.<br />

The speaker at the service, held in St<br />

Anne’s Cathedral, was Phyllis Grothier,<br />

MU All Ireland President.<br />

Banners were paraded before the<br />

service, when Jordanstown branch<br />

unveiled its new banner.<br />

Connor Diocesan President Valerie Ash, left; the Dean<br />

of Belfast, the Very Rev John Mann; and Phyllis Grothier,<br />

MU All Ireland President, at the Festival Service.<br />

New position for former deacon intern<br />

The Rev Andrew Campbell, a former<br />

deacon intern in St Anne’s, will be<br />

instituted as rector of the Parish of<br />

Skerry, Rathcavan and Newtowncrommelin<br />

on August 24.<br />

Andrew, who is married to Allison,<br />

was ordained as a deacon in September<br />

2012 and served his internship<br />

in St Anne’s before moving to<br />

Bangor Abbey as assistant curate.<br />

Andrew described his move to<br />

Skerry, Rathcavan and Newtowncrommelin<br />

as ‘a new and exciting<br />

phase’ in his ministry.<br />

Cathedral Digest 5


Palm Sunday.<br />

Palm Sunday.<br />

Maundy Thursday footwashing.<br />

Good Friday.<br />

Easter Eve. Lighting the Paschal Candle.<br />

6<br />

Cathedral Digest


Easter Eve.<br />

Easter and Holy Week began on Palm<br />

Sunday with a procession of palms.<br />

This year, evening services during Holy<br />

Week were held at 5.30pm Monday to<br />

Friday and at 8pm on Easter Eve. From<br />

Monday to Wednesday the service was<br />

that of Vespers, with a short reflection on<br />

‘The Incomparable God.’<br />

A three-hour service reflecting on<br />

Christ’s words from the Cross was held<br />

on Good Friday and that evening the<br />

service included some beautiful<br />

Passiontide music.<br />

At the Easter Vigil on Saturday the<br />

Paschal Candle was lit, bringing St<br />

Anne’s gradually back into light.<br />

Easter Eve.<br />

Holy Week and Easter 2016<br />

On Maundy Thursday the Sung<br />

Eucharist included foot-washing and<br />

the stripping of the altars.<br />

The preacher at the Easter Day service<br />

was the Bishop of Down and Dromore,<br />

the Right Rev Harold Miller<br />

Easter Day.<br />

Cathedral Digest 7


The Junior Girls’ Choir at Evensong on March 11.<br />

An important moment!<br />

On Friday March 11 the Cathedral’s<br />

Junior Girls’ Choir sang Evensong for the<br />

first time.<br />

They sang the opening plainsong responses,<br />

a form of ‘Magnificat’ and ‘Nunc<br />

Dimittis’ as well as an anthem and hymn.<br />

There was a good attendance of parents<br />

and friends. The Dean of Belfast, the<br />

Very Rev John Mann, said: “This was<br />

an important moment for the 20 young<br />

girls, all from the three Cathedral Choir<br />

Schools, and they responded well to the<br />

challenge.<br />

singing in three north Belfast primary<br />

schools, Sacred Heart, Edenbrook and<br />

Cliftonville Integrated.<br />

Senior Girls sing in<br />

Bach St John Passion<br />

The Senior Girls’ Choir performed in the<br />

Bach St John Passion at the Ulster Hall,<br />

with the Belfast Philharmonic and the Ulster<br />

Orchestra on Good Friday evening.<br />

“Thanks to Thérèse, who directed, and<br />

Anna and Aoife, who supported them<br />

and to Ian on the organ. It was a most<br />

encouraging service and we hope that<br />

we will hear more of them as the months<br />

pass and that some of the girls will find a<br />

place, after audition, in the Senior Girls’<br />

Choir (watch this space!).”<br />

The Choir School project teaches choral<br />

Members of the Girls’ Choir distributed beautiful<br />

daffodil posies to the congregation at services on<br />

Mothering Sunday.<br />

8<br />

Cathedral Digest


Canon Jim Sims and Canon Noble Hamilton at the Retired Clergy Association meeting.<br />

Retired clergy hear talk<br />

on Genesis and geology<br />

Members of the Retired Clergy Association<br />

held a Service of Holy Communion<br />

in the Chapel of Unity in St Anne’s on<br />

March 8.<br />

This was followed by a talk by the Rev<br />

Ron Elsdon entitled ‘Genesis and<br />

Geology’ which Ron said focused on<br />

‘how to read Genesis when we know the<br />

earth is very old, not very young.’<br />

or four times a year. Secretary, the Rev<br />

Canon Walter Laverty, said members<br />

would meet again for their annual lunch<br />

in May, which is also attended by clergy<br />

widows and wives.<br />

The Association will then hold its<br />

September meeting in Armagh, with a<br />

visit to St Patrick’s Cathedral and other<br />

historical sites in the Armagh area.<br />

Before the 11am Communion Service,<br />

the Association members enjoyed<br />

refreshments in the Cathedral Hall,<br />

which they returned to for the talk.<br />

The Association draws members from<br />

across Northern Ireland, and meets three<br />

And in November they will head to Bangor<br />

Abbey, established by Saint Comgall<br />

in 558, for the final meeting of 2016.<br />

The Association is chaired by the Rev<br />

John McKeagney.<br />

Cathedral Digest 9


Pictured with the two Merryweather Fire Engines are, from left: Martin Yore, Station Officer, Louth County Fire<br />

and Rescue Service; Suzanne Wylie, Chief Executive, Belfast City Council; Alderman Paul Bell, Mayor of Drogheda;<br />

the Dean, the Very Rev John Mann; Councillor Arder Carson, Lord Mayor of Belfast; Fionnualla Jay-O’Boyle, Her<br />

Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for Belfast; Fr Michael Sheehan, Administrator, St Patrick’s; Councillor Maria Doyle, Chair<br />

of Dundalk District Council and Dale Ashford, Chief Officer, Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service.<br />

Belfast remembers dead<br />

At a moving service of Evensong in St<br />

Anne’s on April 17, Belfast city<br />

remembered those who died in the Blitz<br />

75 years ago.<br />

Hundreds attended the ecumenical<br />

service led by the Dean, the Very Rev<br />

John Mann, and the Administrator of St<br />

Patrick’s Church, Donegall Street, Fr<br />

Michael Sheehan, who preached.<br />

More than 900 people died and 1,500<br />

were injured on the night of Tuesday<br />

April 15 1941, when Luftwaffe<br />

bombers staged the biggest of four raids<br />

on Belfast city. Another 150 people were<br />

killed in a subsequent raid on the night of<br />

May 4-5 1941.<br />

One thousand candles burned during the<br />

service in St Anne’s, offering symbolic<br />

reflection for those who died, and<br />

candles were also carried in procession<br />

to the altar. Prayers were specially<br />

written for the occasion.<br />

along with people with memories and<br />

links to the Blitz and representatives of<br />

the emergency services whose predecessors<br />

risked their own lives to save<br />

lives in the city of Belfast 75 years ago.<br />

They included representatives of the Fire<br />

Service in Dublin, Drogheda and Dundalk,<br />

who sent engines to Belfast during<br />

the Blitz. Two Merryweather Fire Engines<br />

which attended in the wake of the bombings<br />

in 1941 made the journey back to<br />

Belfast and were parked outside.<br />

Remembering the night of April 15 in his<br />

sermon, Fr Sheehan recalled a ‘darkness<br />

which brought its own horror,<br />

suffering, heartbreak and pain; a<br />

darkness which brought degradation,<br />

torture and death; a darkness which<br />

threatened to engulf goodness, honour,<br />

life and love and which threatened the<br />

very foundation of our humanity; a darkness<br />

which in so many places across the<br />

continent destroyed innocence.’<br />

The service was attended by dignitaries<br />

including the City’s Lord Mayor and Her<br />

Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for Belfast,<br />

Fr Sheehan added: “People emerge<br />

in every darkness who demonstrate<br />

through their actions your (God’s) good-<br />

10<br />

Cathedral Digest


1,000 candles, each representing a lost life, burn as the Blitz commemoration service gets underway.<br />

and wounded of the Blitz<br />

ness; people who come to ease and<br />

strengthen, support and defend the<br />

innocent, the wounded and the survivor.<br />

We give thanks for those lights which<br />

demonstrated courage, care, kindness<br />

and honour. The ambulance service, fire<br />

and rescue, wardens and defence units<br />

as well as ordinary good neighbours<br />

from across our divide.”<br />

Dean Mann said the indiscriminate<br />

bombing of the people of Belfast in 1941<br />

was commemorated with ‘an anguish<br />

that is still real.’<br />

“The image of St Anne’s amidst the<br />

smouldering ruins after a night of destruction<br />

from the air is more powerful<br />

than many words for me,” the Dean said.<br />

“The indiscriminate bombing of civilians<br />

in Belfast, or anywhere for that matter,<br />

is something we commemorate with an<br />

anguish that is still real these 75 years<br />

on. Our prayers reflect this.<br />

“We recall the fear, the death, the injury,<br />

the ruination, the many, to this day,<br />

whose lives were affected by those few<br />

nights that obliterated parts of our city.”<br />

The service concluded a weekend of<br />

events marking the 75th anniversary.<br />

John and Fiona Cromie chat with Canadian Elizabeth<br />

Dorothea Mawhinney whose family survived the Blitz<br />

by hiding in a cupboard in their Oldpark Avenue home.<br />

Order of Malta cadets take part in the candlelit<br />

procession.<br />

Cathedral Digest 11


Dr Marion Gibson receiving the Iris Colvin Lifetime<br />

Achievement Award from Donna Traynor, BBC. Looking<br />

on is Pat Irvine, Chairman of Women’s Forum.<br />

Belfast Cathedral parishioner and<br />

renowned trauma expert Dr Marion<br />

Gibson has been presented with the Iris<br />

Colvin Lifetime Achievement Award by<br />

the Northern Ireland Women’s Forum.<br />

Mrs Roberta McKelvey, wife of the<br />

former Dean of Belfast, the Very Rev<br />

Houston McKelvey, was jointly awarded<br />

the Community and Voluntary Award by<br />

the same body, having been nominated<br />

by Connor Diocese Mothers’ Union.<br />

The Awards were among a number<br />

presented by Donna Traynor of the BBC<br />

at the Women’s Forum Friendship Lunch<br />

held on April 10 in Newforge Country<br />

Club.<br />

Marion is a Mother’s Union member of<br />

the Belfast Cathedral branch.<br />

Iris Colvin, a former Chair (1988-1991)<br />

and Honorary Life Member of Women’s<br />

Forum Northern Ireland, was a much<br />

loved, highly respected and matriarchal<br />

figure in business, professional and<br />

12<br />

Cathedral Digest<br />

Donna Traynor, BBC, presents the Community and<br />

Voluntary Award to Connor MU nominee Roberta<br />

McKelvey. Included is Pat Irvine, Women’s Forum.<br />

Prestigious awards for<br />

Marion and Roberta<br />

women’s organisations and the voluntary<br />

sector in Northern Ireland.<br />

Marion said she was honoured to receive<br />

the award, especially as she had known<br />

the late Iris Colvin for many years,<br />

having met her at a Flower Festival in St<br />

Anne’s. Marion was nominated by the<br />

President of Queen’s Women’s<br />

Graduates.<br />

“It was a real honour,” said Marion. “They<br />

read a lovely acclamation although I was<br />

too dazed to take it all in, but I said a few<br />

words about my contact with Iris. I was<br />

really overwhelmed.”<br />

Marion was also recently named for a<br />

prestigious Points of Light Award by the<br />

Prime Minister.<br />

Roberta McKelvey has held many posts<br />

within Mothers’ Union and was a Trustee<br />

for World Wide Mothers Union for 12<br />

years, six as a representative of<br />

members in Anglican Provinces around<br />

the World.


Well done David & Tania<br />

Master of the Choristers Mr David<br />

Stevens has been named in the 2016<br />

Royal Academy of Music Honours list.<br />

And Tania Murphy, a member of the<br />

Cathedral Girls’ Choir, was selected to<br />

represent St Anne’s at a concert in St<br />

Paul’s Cathedral, London.<br />

David, who has been at St Anne’s since<br />

2012, has been made an Associate of<br />

the Royal Academy of Music. This<br />

honour is awarded to former students<br />

who have made a significant contribution<br />

to the music profession.<br />

David was formerly Director of the Girls’<br />

Choir and Sub–Organist at Newcastle<br />

Cathedral, and Director of Campus<br />

Music at Northumbria University.<br />

He is a prize–winning graduate of the<br />

Royal Academy of Music in London, from<br />

where he obtained an MA in Choral Conducting,<br />

with distinction, in 2009. Prior to<br />

that, David read Music and was Organ<br />

Scholar at Oriel College, Oxford.<br />

Before moving to London, David spent a<br />

year as Organ Scholar and acting Sub–<br />

David Stevens, Master of the Choristers.<br />

Organist of Guildford Cathedral, where<br />

he played the organ for services and<br />

assisted with the training and conducting<br />

of the cathedral choirs.<br />

David has among other things been<br />

instrumental in the development of new<br />

choirs in St Anne’s, including the Girls’<br />

Choir and the Boys’ Choir, and in the<br />

introduction of Choral Evensong six days<br />

a week in term time.<br />

Chorister Tania is in Year 12 at Aquinas<br />

Diocesan Grammar School.<br />

The St Paul’s concert brought<br />

choristers representing 60 cathedrals<br />

across the country together with the<br />

choir of St Paul’s to perform some of<br />

Britain’s most-loved choral music.<br />

Girls’ Choir member Tania Murphy.<br />

Classic FM’s Aled Jones, a former chorister<br />

at Bangor Cathedral and Alexander<br />

Armstrong, previously a chorister at<br />

Durham Cathedral, presented the<br />

concert in the presence of HRH The<br />

Duchess of Gloucester on April 27.<br />

Cathedral Digest 13


Heritage<br />

Symbolism III - Snakes,<br />

the Tetramorph<br />

Snakes are featured on the spurs of the<br />

plinth of the respond of Wisdom. There is<br />

an ambiguity about this creature. It had a<br />

role in the religions of the Ancient World<br />

as a symbol of evil power and the bringer<br />

of chaos, as well as being a symbol<br />

of fertility, life and healing. The staff of<br />

Aesculapius, the Greek god of medicine,<br />

has a snake wound round it. (See the<br />

Royal Army Medical Corps window in<br />

the ambulatory, pictured right).) When<br />

shown eating its tail the snake becomes<br />

a symbol of the ‘perpetual cyclic renewal<br />

of life’.<br />

By Norman<br />

Weatherall<br />

This ambiguity, good and evil, is found<br />

in the presentation of the creature in the<br />

Bible. From Genesis 3 we learn that “the<br />

serpent was more crafty than any other<br />

beast of the field that the Lord God had<br />

made”, and we are given a demonstration<br />

of that talent when it meets Eve.<br />

Punishment followed: “cursed are you<br />

above all cattle... upon your belly you<br />

shall go, and dust you shall eat all the<br />

days of your life…”<br />

While the serpent in the Bible is linked to<br />

destructive agents -- wine is said to “bite<br />

like a serpent” and sting “like a viper”,<br />

(Proverbs 23: 32); the wicked man’s<br />

“food is turned in his stomach; it is the<br />

gall of asps within him” (Job 20: 14); Jesus<br />

dismisses the Pharisees as a “Brood<br />

of vipers” -- it is also linked with healing.<br />

When the Israelites were punished with a<br />

plague of snakes Moses was instructed<br />

to “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a<br />

pole and everyone who is bitten, when<br />

he sees it, shall live.” Jesus picks this up,<br />

John 3:14, “And as Moses lifted up the<br />

serpent in the wilderness, so must the<br />

Son of man be lifted up, that whoever<br />

believes in him may have eternal life .”<br />

The two incidents are linked on the West<br />

Front of the Cathedral: a window above<br />

the Crucifixion tympanum, north door,<br />

depicts Moses holding a rod adorned<br />

with a serpent.<br />

In Isaiah’s vision of “the Future Hope of<br />

Israel”, the kingdom of God on Earth, the<br />

new era of justice and peace will extend<br />

even to the animals: the snake, agent<br />

of death, will be de-fanged and “The<br />

nursing child will play by the hole of the<br />

cobra, And the weaned child will put his<br />

hand on the viper’s den.” (chapter11).<br />

A positive slant on the snake’s subtlety<br />

14<br />

Cathedral Digest


is given by Our Lord in his instruction to<br />

the disciples: “Behold I am sending you<br />

out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so<br />

be wise as serpents and innocent as<br />

doves.” Furthermore, the power of the<br />

serpent is not limitless: Jesus tells the<br />

men “Behold I have given you authority<br />

to tread on serpents and scorpions…<br />

and nothing shall hurt you.” (Luke 10)<br />

The tympanum above the Great West<br />

Door of the Cathedral depicts a defeated<br />

serpent-Devil-Satan prostrate beneath<br />

the feet of the enthroned, victorious<br />

Christ. “Then I saw an angel coming<br />

down from heaven, holding in his hand<br />

the key of the bottomless pit and a great<br />

chain. And he seized the dragon, who<br />

is the Devil and Satan, and bound him<br />

for a thousand years, and threw him into<br />

the pit, and shut it and sealed it over<br />

him, that he could deceive the nations no<br />

more….” (Rev.20:2)<br />

On the lectern, below the eagle, is the<br />

Tetramorph: Greek--“four forms”, based<br />

on figures described in Ezekiel and in<br />

Revelation. “And round the throne, on<br />

each side of the throne, are four living<br />

creatures, full of eyes in front and<br />

behind: the first living creature like a lion,<br />

the second living creature like an ox, the<br />

third living creature like a man, and the<br />

fourth living creature like a flying eagle.”<br />

(Rev. 4: 6-8) These creatures were<br />

adapted by the Early Church as symbols<br />

for the Evangelists. The man is Matthew<br />

because his Gospel emphasises the<br />

human side of Christ. Mark represents<br />

the Saviour’s power and royalty: a lion<br />

for him. Luke concentrates on Christ’s<br />

priesthood, hence the ox or calf, a sacrificial<br />

victim. St John, the Evangelist, represented<br />

by an eagle, is described by St<br />

Augustine as gazing “on the light of the<br />

immutable truth with keen and undazzled<br />

eyes” like the eagle looking at the sun.<br />

Daily guided<br />

tours now<br />

available!<br />

Running until the end of September,<br />

St Anne’s is offering guided tours<br />

every day except Sunday at 11am<br />

and 2pm.<br />

Our guides will highlight some of the<br />

key features of this historic building,<br />

including the pillars which represent<br />

life and work in the city and<br />

province, the beautiful stained glass<br />

windows, the labyrinth depicting<br />

the journey of life, the Baptistry, and<br />

Lord Carson’s tomb.<br />

Visitors will discover why St Anne’s<br />

has two Bishops’ Seats, and see the<br />

State Seats, which are sometimes<br />

occupied by Royalty!<br />

A guided tour is £4 per adult and<br />

places do not have to be booked in<br />

advance.<br />

Regular admission prices are:<br />

• Adults £5 (including guide book);<br />

£6 (including audio guide)<br />

• Children aged 16 and under – free<br />

entry for up to three children when<br />

accompanied by a full paying adult<br />

• Students (on production of Student<br />

ID) £3 (including guide book); £4<br />

(including audio guide)<br />

• Pensioners £3 (including guide<br />

book) £4 (including audio tour)<br />

• Group rate for groups of 10 or more<br />

- £4 (including guide book)<br />

• Guided tour (daily 11am and 2pm<br />

EXCEPT SUNDAY) £4 per adult.<br />

Cathedral Digest 15


May<br />

1st<br />

8th<br />

15th<br />

22nd<br />

29th<br />

June<br />

5th<br />

12th<br />

19th<br />

26th<br />

Eucharist Assistants<br />

Barbara Callender and Jean Cunning<br />

Marion Gibson and Patricia McKinley<br />

Alan Martin and Barbara Callender<br />

Jean Cunning and Doris Hempton<br />

Phyllis Forster and Terry Pateman<br />

Barbara Callender and Marion Gibson<br />

Jean Cunning and Phyllis Forster<br />

Alan Martin and Doris Hempton<br />

Patricia McKinley and Terry Pateman<br />

Cathedral flowers<br />

Anyone wishing to add their name to the Cathedral Flower Rota should<br />

contact Margaret Massey on 028 9084 8051.<br />

The flowers on May 29 will be donated by Stanley & Noreen McIlroy (in<br />

memory of parents) and on June 5 by David & Helen Alexander (in memory<br />

of parents).<br />

May<br />

1st<br />

8th<br />

15th<br />

22nd<br />

29th<br />

Patricia McKinley<br />

Helen Mann<br />

Phyllis Watson<br />

Mildred Irvine<br />

Gillian McCaughey<br />

Sunday Coffee<br />

June<br />

5th<br />

12th<br />

19th<br />

26th<br />

Gail Barr<br />

Fiona Hawkins<br />

Gwen Preece<br />

Helen Alexander<br />

16<br />

‘GOD IS LOVE, AND THOSE WHO LIVE IN LOVE<br />

LIVE IN GOD, AND GOD LIVES IN THEM’<br />

April 4 - Adam James Fox and Phoebe Leanne Greer<br />

‘AND HE TOOK THEM IN HIS ARMS<br />

AND BLESSED THEM’<br />

27 March - Mark Shamil Clelland<br />

Cathedral Digest


A St Patrick’s Day Breakfast followed a<br />

service of Sung Eucharist in St Anne’s<br />

Cathedral on March 17. The service<br />

had an Irish slant, with the words of St<br />

Patrick’s Confession read in place of a<br />

sermon, a practice the Dean has<br />

followed for some years.<br />

Great sadness was occasioned by the<br />

death of Ruth, daughter of Canon Denise<br />

Acheson, on April 18.<br />

Canon Denise had been on extended<br />

leave since last October, but due to<br />

Ruth’s illness she was unable to return<br />

as planned and resigned her position as<br />

Dean’s Vicar. She will remain nominally<br />

on the staff of St Anne’s with the<br />

Bishop’s licence, but without duties, until<br />

she is able to take up a new position.<br />

Following the news of Ruth’s untimely<br />

death, Dean John Mann said: “Our<br />

hearts go out to the whole family, and the<br />

prayers of us all in St Anne’s will be with<br />

them at this sorrowful time. May the Father<br />

in His mercy grant comfort, and may<br />

His presence bring the reassurance of<br />

Enjoying breakfast following the St Patrick’s Day Eucharist.<br />

St Patrick’s Day Eucharist and Breakfast<br />

The Dean said: “His testimony is<br />

inspirational and sets just the right tone<br />

on a day that can become somewhat<br />

less than its Christian origins.”<br />

The choir sang an anthem in praise of St<br />

Patrick in Irish during the service.<br />

Canon Denise Acheson<br />

the hope that is ours in the Risen Christ<br />

and the eternity of life and love in Him.”<br />

Dean Mann said Canon Denise had<br />

made a very important contribution to the<br />

life of the Cathedral over the course of<br />

more than two years. “Her steady presence<br />

and total commitment have been<br />

exemplary, and many have benefited<br />

from her ministry, not least in her support<br />

and encouragement of the other clergy.”<br />

Canon installed<br />

At Evensong on Palm Sunday<br />

the Rev Canon Mark Taylor was<br />

installed in the Cathedral Chapter,<br />

representing Connor Diocese.<br />

Mark is rector of the United Parish<br />

of Whitehead and Islandmagee.<br />

Cathedral Digest 17


Who’s Who in St Anne’s<br />

The Dean<br />

The Very Revd John Mann<br />

9032 8332 (Office)<br />

9066 0980 (Home)<br />

dean@belfastcathedral.org<br />

Dean’s Vicar<br />

The Revd Mark Niblock<br />

(from Sunday May 8)<br />

9032 8332<br />

Assistant Clergy<br />

The Revd Campbell Dixon<br />

9032 8332 ext 223<br />

07879 427980<br />

Administrative Staff<br />

Bursar<br />

Marie Devlin<br />

9032 8332 ext 221<br />

bursar@belfastcathedral.org<br />

Administrative Assistant<br />

9032 8332 ext 222<br />

Parish Readers<br />

William Blair<br />

Denise Murray<br />

Head Verger<br />

David Alexander<br />

The Revd Janice Elsdon<br />

9032 8332 ext 224<br />

07977 058669<br />

janice@belfastcathedral.org<br />

Other Clergy<br />

The Rt Revd Alan Harper<br />

The Revd Clyde Irvine<br />

The Revd Paul Twomey<br />

Master of the Choristers<br />

David Stevens<br />

9032 8332 ext 225<br />

07545 157613<br />

david@belfastcathedral.org<br />

Press Officer and Digest Editor<br />

Karen Bushby<br />

9032 8332<br />

karen@belfastcathedral.org<br />

Organist<br />

Ian Barber<br />

9032 8332 ext 226<br />

07753 248409<br />

ian@belfastcathedral.org<br />

Vergers<br />

Ronnie Lawrenson<br />

Cameron McGaughey<br />

Danielle Barr<br />

Cathedral Sextons<br />

Agnes Laffey<br />

Mark Geddis<br />

Alastair Sweetnam<br />

Gerald Kennedy<br />

Stewards’ Coordinators<br />

The Revd Janice Elsdon<br />

Vernon Clegg<br />

Children’s Ministry<br />

Vacant<br />

Mothers’ Union<br />

Alberta Miskimmin,<br />

Hon Sec<br />

9079 8033<br />

Flower List & Coffee Rota<br />

Margaret Massey<br />

9084 8051<br />

18<br />

Cathedral Digest


Who’s Who in St Anne’s<br />

Friends of the Cathedral<br />

Joan Thompson,<br />

Hon Treasurer / Members Sec<br />

9332 9102<br />

Past Choristers’ Association<br />

Co-ordinator: Peter Hunter<br />

9042 2048<br />

pdhunter@hotmail.co.uk<br />

Archivists<br />

Norman Weatherall<br />

Jean Barber<br />

Vernon Clegg<br />

Principal Cathedral Guide<br />

Norman Weatherall<br />

The Revd Michael Parker (2015)<br />

Chapter Canons:<br />

The Revd JC Munyangaju (2012)<br />

The Revd Bro DJ Jardine (2007)<br />

Minor Canons:<br />

The Revd SA Fielding (2002)<br />

The Revd NDJ Kirkpatrick (2014)<br />

The Revd ATW Dorrian (2014)<br />

The Revd J Bell (2015)<br />

The Revd R Smyth (2015)<br />

The Revd S Richardson (2015)<br />

Ecumenical Canons:<br />

The Revd Dr R Patterson (2012)<br />

The Revd Ruth E Patterson (2014)<br />

Librarian<br />

Vacant<br />

The Cathedral Chapter<br />

The Dean: The Very Revd J O Mann<br />

(2011)<br />

Treasurer & Chapter Clerk: The Revd<br />

Denise Acheson (2013)<br />

Chancellor: The Venerable DA McClay<br />

(2013)<br />

Precentor: The Venerable GTW<br />

Davison (2013)<br />

Canons of Connor:<br />

The Revd NP Baylor (2012)<br />

The Revd N R Cutcliffe (2007)<br />

The Revd RW Jones (2013)<br />

The Revd Mark Taylor (2016)<br />

Canons of Down and Dromore<br />

The Revd N Jardine (2002)<br />

The Revd R Nesbitt (2003)<br />

The Revd WD Humphries (2013)<br />

The Revd SH Lowry (2013)<br />

The Cathedral Board<br />

The Bishop of Connor (Chairman)<br />

The Bishop of Down & Dromore<br />

The Dean<br />

The Dean’s Vicar<br />

The Archdeacons of Belfast and Down<br />

The Rev C Dixon<br />

The Rev J Elsdon<br />

The Rev Canon N Baylor<br />

The Rev Canon Stephen Lowry<br />

Mrs G McGaughey (Hon Sec)<br />

Dr V KcKinley<br />

Mr J Watson<br />

Mr M Hempton<br />

Dr M Callender<br />

Mr R Totten<br />

Mr D Alexander<br />

Mr MC Davey<br />

Mr R Moore<br />

Mr B Fletcher<br />

Mr A Reilly<br />

Cathedral Digest 19


THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST ANNE<br />

Sunday Services<br />

8.00am & 10.00am<br />

11am<br />

3.30pm<br />

The Eucharist<br />

Sung Eucharist<br />

Choral Evensong<br />

Daily services<br />

Monday to Saturday<br />

8.10am<br />

8.30am<br />

1.00pm<br />

5.30pm<br />

Morning Prayer<br />

The Eucharist<br />

Prayers (Eucharist on Wednesdays and<br />

Saints’ Days and other Holy Days)<br />

Evening Prayer (Choral on weekdays)<br />

Special Services and Events<br />

Saturday May 7 @ 7pm Belfast Philharmonic, Phil Kids and Phil<br />

Youth Choirs 10th anniversary concert<br />

Sunday May 8 @ 3.30pm SSAFA 130th anniversary service<br />

Wednesday May 11 @ 1pm Concert by the Thiel Choir, Pennsylvania<br />

Saturday May 21 @ 2pm RSCM - A Sequence for Ascension - a<br />

festival service for Pentecost<br />

Sunday May 22 @ 3.30pm Cathedral Choir Schools concert<br />

Sunday June 5 @ 3.30pm Saying Goodbye Service<br />

Wednesday June 8 @ 5.30pm A celebration service for 90th Birthday of<br />

Her Majesty the Queen<br />

St Dominic’s Grammar School held its annual Spring Concert in St Anne’s on Thursday April 14.<br />

For further information visit www.belfastcathedral.org<br />

2<br />

Cathedral Digest

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